Laparotomy sheet with extended wing sections

ABSTRACT

A surgical drape or sheet, such as a laparotomy sheet for positioning in overlying relation to a patient to prevent contamination of the patient. The sheet includes extended wing sections which cover the armboards of a surgical table and an extended or extra piece of material on the wing sections which hangs over the edges of the armboards and extends downwardly therefrom for providing an extra zone of protection against possible contamination of the patient and forming a gusset in the area where the wing section is connected with the main body of the sheet to permit the surgeon to move substantially against the body of the patient, even into the underarm area, without pulley the sheet away from the head area or any other area of the patient. In effect, the laparotomy sheet is substantially formfitted to the patient.

United States Patent [191 Sislian Dec. 24, 1974 LAPAROTOMY SHEET WITH EXTENDED WING SECTIONS [75] Inventor: Robert J. Sislian, Brielle, NJ.

[73] Assignee: Work Wear Corporation, Cleveland,

Ohio

[22] Filed: May 9, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 359,212

[52] US. Cl 128/132 D [51] Int. Cl. A6lf 13/00 [58] Field of Search 128/132 D, 292; 150/52 R;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1972 Staley 297/219 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Ruby Prods. Co. Inc. Price List, Feb 1, 1960.

Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-G. F. Dunne Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A. OBrien;

. Harvey B. Jacobson [5 7 ABSTRACT A surgical drape or sheet, such as a laparotomy sheet for positioning in overlying relation to a patient to prevent contamination of the patient. The sheet includes extended wing sections which cover the armboards of a surgical table and an extended or extra piece of material on the wing sections which hangs over the edges of the armboards and extends downwardly therefrom for providing an extra zone of protection against possible contamination of the patient and forming a gusset in the area where the wing section is connected with the main body of the sheet to permit the surgeon to move substantially against the body of the patient,

even into the underarm area, without pulley the sheet away from the head area or any other area of the patient. In effect, the laparotomy sheet is substantially form-fitted to the patient. a

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures LAPAROTOMY SHEET WITH EXTENDED WING SECTIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a laparatomy sheet or drape having extended wing sections for overlying the armboards of a surgical table together with an extension on the wing section which also hangs downwardly from one edge of the armboard and defines a gusset area where the wing section joins with the main body of the sheet to provide additional patient protection in the underarm area and enables the surgeon to move to a position tight against the body or surgical table throughout the underarm area of the patient.

2. Description of the Prior Art Examples of laparotomy sheets, surgical drapes and the like can be found in various prior patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,067 issued Feb. 23, 1971 and US. Pat. No. 3,561,439 issued Feb. 9, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,266 issued Nov. 12, 1968', U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,520 issued Dec. 1968; U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,692 issued Aug. 1968; U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,680 issued Aug. 1966; U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,360 issued May 1966; U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,957 issued Apr. 1962; U.S. Pat. No. 2,591,782 issued Apr. 1952; U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,356 issued Feb. 1970; U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,391 issued Mar. 1970; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,182,656 issued May 1965, all of which are believed to be classified in Class 128, subclass 132.

The sheets or drapes disclosed in the above mentioned patents and the surgical drapes and sheets presently being employed are generally rectangular in configuration and include a peripheral edge that extends substantially beyond the peripheral edge of the surgical table and hangs over the edge of the -surgical table for protection of the patient from contamination during various surgical procedures. In some instances, the surgical table includes an armboard or armboards which underlies and supports the arm or arms of the patient in an outstretched position generally perpendicular to the main body of the patient with the armboards generally being perpendicularto the main body of the surgical table. In such conventional surgical drapes, if they are sufficiently large to cover the armboards, the area of the surgical drape or sheet which bridged the juncture between the armboards and the surgical table did not hang down freely and if the surgeon or other personnel moved into this area, the drape or sheet could be pulled off of certain areas of the patient which could subject the patient to possible contamination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide a surgical drape or sheet, such as a laparotomy sheet, which in cludes laterally extending wing sections overlying the armboards and hanging over the edges thereof with the wing sections being substantially perpendicular to the main body or panel of the surgical drape or sheet with the wing sections also including additional material or extended material forming a gusset area between the wing sections and the main panel or body of the surgical drape or sheet so that the peripheral edge portion of the drape will hang freely down from the edge of the surgical table throughout the periphery thereof whereby the surgeon or other personnel may move into the angular area defined by the armboards and main body of the surgical table without pulling the surgical drape or sheet from the patient.

A further object of the invention is to provide a surgical drape or sheet constructed of conventional materials with the wing sections and extensions thereon being of unitary construction with the remainder of the surgical drape or sheet and effectively protecting the patient from contamination and permitting the surgeon to move freely and without restriction to any area around the periphery of the surgical table.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the surgical drape of the present invention employed in association with a surgical table and patient.

FIG. 2 is asectional view taken substantially along a plane passing along section line 22 of FIG. 1 illustrating further structural details of the association of the armboard of the table, arm and wing section of the surgical drape.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now specifically to the drawings, the surgical drape or laparotomy sheet of the present invention is generally designated by numeral 10 and includes a main body or panel 12 of generally rectangular configuration which is adapted to overlie and cover a patient 14 positioned on a surgical table generally designated by the numeral 16. The main panel or body 12 of the surgical drape includes peripheral edge portions 18 which hang over the peripheral side edges of the surgical table and may include an appropriately located fenestration 20 to provide access to the patient in a well known manner.

Adjacent one end of the main body or panel of the surgical drape, there is provided a pair of wing sections 22 which extend outwardly from the main body or panel 12 in generally perpendicular relation thereto and are disposed in overlying relation to a patients arm and hand area 24 and the armboards "26 provided on the surgical table. The edges of the wing sections 22 which are designated by reference numeral 28 hang over the peripheral edges of the armboards 26 to protect the patient from contamination. 1n the area where the wing sections join with the main body panel 12, there is provided additional material which forms a gusset 30 which enables this portion of the peripheral edge 18 of the main body 12 of the surgical drape and the peripheral edge 28 of the wing sections 22.to hang substantially vertically downwardly over the associated edges of the surgical table and armboards so that the surgeon or other personnel may move closely adjacent the table and patient in the area defined by the junction between the armboard 26 and the main body of the surgical table. Without the additional or extended material defining the gusset, the portion of the drape covering the armboard and covering the main body of the table would extend in a diagonal position across the included angle between the armboard and main portion of the table in which event a surgeon or other person moving into this area would engage the diagonal portion and move it inwardly thus pulling the surgical drape in a manner that either the arm or head area of the patient may become uncovered and subject to contamination.

With this construction, the laparotomy sheet has wing sections and an extra piece of material which hangs over the armboards of a surgical table and provides an extra zone of protection against possible contamination of the patient. The extra piece of material forms a gusset in the area where it attaches to the main body of the sheet and this gusset permits the surgeon to move to an area adjacent or against the body of the patient and the surgical table without pulling the sheet away from the head area or any other area of the patient. In effect, the laparotomy sheet of this invention is form-fitted to the patient and more effectively covers and protects the patient from contamination.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A surgical drape for positioning in overlying and protective relation to a patient and a generally rectangular surgical table provided with armboards projecting perpendicularly therefrom for receiving the arms of the patient for protecting the patient against contamination during a surgical procedure, said drape comprising a v generally rectangular main body panel adapted to overlie the table and the patient from head to toe, and wing sections extending generally perpendicularly from the main body panel of the drape for overlying the arms of the patient and the armboards of the table, said main body panel and wing sections including peripheral edge portions hanging downwardly over the peripheral edge of the surgical table and armboards, said area of the drape where the wing sections join the main body panel including added material to provide a gusset area interconnecting the portions of the main body panel and wing sections hanging over the peripheral edge portions of the surgical table and armboards to define a gusset to enable the portion of the drape in this area to hang substantially vertically downwardly throughout the perpendicularly arranged edges of the table and armboards defining the included angle therebetween thereby enabling a surgeon to move into this area adjacent the body of the patient without pulling the drape from protective relation to certain areas of the body of the patient. 

1. A surgical drape for positioning in overlying and protective relation to a patient and a generally rectangular surgical table provided with armboards projecting perpendicularly therefrom for receiving the arms of the patient for protecting the patient against contamination during a surgical procedure, said drape comprising a generally rectangular main body panel adapted to overlie the table and the patient from head to toe, and wing sections extending generally perpendicularly from the main body panel of the drape for overlying the arms of the patient and the armboards of the table, said main body panel and wing sections including peripheral edge portions hanging downwardly over the peripheral edge of the surgical table and armboards, said area of the drape where the wing sections join the main body panel including added material to provide a gusset area interconnecting the portions of the main body panel and wing sections hanging over the peripheral edge portions of the surgical table and armboards to define a gusset to enable the portion of the drape in this area to hang substantially vertically downwardly throughout the perpendicularly arranged edges of the table and armboards defining the included angle therebetween thereby enabling a surgeon to move into this area adjacent the body of the patient without pulling the drape from protective relation to certain areas of the body of the patient. 